Muggles and Magic
by Alucard1
Summary: Two muggles meet a new friend on a shopping trip. What ensues will entangle both their worlds, and change their lives.
1. The Mall and Many Questions

(DISCLAIMER: I obviously own none of the rights to any of the characters, situations, and scenarios that have occurred in the Harry Potter universe. I also have no rights to the character known only as Mallory, and any events that occur in this fanfic that may resemble real life events are a mere coincidence. I especially own no rights to the Ray character, as I am only a minor and my parents own my rights for another 6 months. Lol.)  
  
Part 1: The Mall and Many Questions  
  
It was a hot day as Mallory and Ray drove along the crowded street. It was summer vacation and Ray was so sleep deprived that he was barely awake as they pulled to a stop at the corner. "Wake up!" Mallory said as she playfully executed her patented double slap to Ray's face. "I am awake," he replied as he slowly sat up and smiled. He looked out of his window and realized that they would arrive at the mall shortly. He pretended to stretch and slyly poked Mallory lightly in the side. It startled her and she yelped loudly. Ray chuckled silently as the guy in the car next to them looked at her strangely. "Meanie butt!" Mallory complained back with that smile of hers. It always seemed that the more she said that the more he teased her. It was their past time. After a few more minutes of driving they pulled into their familiar parking place at the mall, and got out of the car. They entered the mall and started at Mallory's favorite store. It was a good 45 minutes, and 6 outfits later that they left Deb and moved on to another store. After a few quick interludes in other stores they stopped in another of Mallory's favorite stores and she dropped another $50. By this time they were both more than a little tired and both were starving. They soon found a pretzel vendor and both of them ended up with a hot pretzels with cheddar cheese sauce. As they walked away Ray spilled his cheese, but Mallory offered to share hers. They made their way over to the food court and sat down. Their conversation continued on for a couple of minutes about nothing in particular. Mostly just more inside jokes, and Ray's own brand of cheesy humor. They just sat there for a few minutes, resting their legs before they got up to tackle a few more stores. Just as Mallory started to pack up their trash she noticed a girl standing next to their table looking a bit puzzled. "Umm...hello..." Mallory said as she looked up at the girl, a little lost for words. A few seconds later she added, "Is something wrong?" "Well yes actually, I was trying to find a bookstore called...err...Barnes and Nobles, but it seems I've taken a bit of a wrong turn," the girl replied. Her British accent was almost overwhelming, and it took both Ray and Mallory a second to figure out what she had said. She looked to be about two or three years younger than they were, maybe fourteen. Her eyes were brown and she had strangely frizzy hair, her teeth looked out of proportion, almost buck-toothed.  
  
"We were just about to go there, we could show you the way," Ray stated as he stood up and pushed in his chair. "Really, that'd be great," she responded, "I was hoping to pick up some good books to read in between classes." "Your in school right now?" Mallory asked inquisitively. "Yeah, umm...I'm taking classes at the local CCC," the girl replied with a nervous smile. "I don't believe I caught your names," the girl added as she extended her hand before continuing, "mine name is Hermione Granger." Both Ray and Mallory kind of stared at her for a moment, and both of them were thinking along the same lines. "The Hermione Granger?" Ray asked as her shook hands with her. He thought to himself that this just must be an odd coincidence. Everybody knew that as much as they hoped J.K. Rowling's world was real, it indeed was not. Even though he was somewhat skeptic, the girl did fit the bill of how Hermione was written in. "Yeah I guess..." Hermione said as she looked at him a bit strangely before adding, "but what do you mean the Hermione Granger?" " You do know your named after a character in a popular book?" Mallory asked before remembering the girl's original question. "By the way, my name is Mallory," she added, politely shaking her hand when Ray finally stopped shaking it. "It's a pleasure to meet you," Hermione replied with a smile, seemingly having forgotten the first thing Mallory had said. They started off towards Barnes and Nobles after Mallory finished throwing away her trash. They walked around the edge of the seating area. It was obvious that they both were thinking the same thing; was this all a joke, or were they truly talking to Hermione Granger? "Did you say you were going to CC, as in GRCC?" Mallory asked, breaking the silence. "Yes, well, something of the sort..." Hermione replied. She seemed nervous as Ray and Mallory took turns giving her confused glances. They continued on walking past the pretzel vendor, and the restroom right next- door. Hermione asked if they would wait while she relieved herself and they agreed. "Do you really think..." I turned to Mallory and started to ask as soon as Hermione was out of earshot. "I don't know," Mallory said cutting Ray off. "If it is really her, then why would she be here?" she continued. "I don't know, but her accent was clearly British, she's obviously not from around here," Ray stated. "Yeah, and you would be the expert on British accents...," Mallory started in with a sly smile on her face. She knew she had gotten her revenge for the incident in the car. The inside joke was apparent and they both laughed before Mallory added, "Seriously, the only way we're going to find out the truth is if we ask her." "Yeah right Mal, what are we really going to say, 'are you a witch?'" Ray said, laughing at the idea of how ridiculous that would sound. It was just then that Mallory caught a glimpse behind Ray's shoulder and saw Hermione standing there. Ray followed her eyes and turned to see her standing there with her perfect posture. She wondered how much the girl had overheard... "Uhh...Hermione...," Ray just kind of stammered. He didn't know what to say and his heart was racing a mile a minute. "It's OK, I overheard that last part you guys were talking about," Hermione interrupted with a slight grin. "I suppose you want to know the answer to your question?" she finished. "Yeah..." Ray replied sheepishly. "Matter of factly, I am a witch," she answered coolly with confidence. "I know this is probably a stupid question, but, do you think you could prove it?" Mallory asked a bit reluctantly. At that Hermione started looking around, and soon her eye spotted the spilt cheese from earlier. Ray and Mallory both followed her gaze. "Cheddaro Mopup," she chanted under her breath as she lightly waved her hand. Sure enough, the cheese sauce disappeared and the floor returned to it's previously shiny state. "That was incredible," Mallory said as Hermione just looked on grinning. "Yeah, just think about the practical applications that would have in house cleaning," Ray whispered to Mallory who just laughed. "Is that enough proof?" Hermione asked as they continued on walking towards Barnes and Nobles. "Definitely," Ray answered as a million questions raced through his mind. He wondered if she was exactly how the book portrayed her. Had she really been through the experiences that Rowling had charmed the world with in her books? He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but he hadn't yet worked up the nerve. He wondered if Mallory was thinking the same things, and decided that knowing her curiosity she probably was. Hermione was like an old friend who went away for awhile, but then came back for her high school reunion ten years later. The three of them continued on to Barnes and Nobles, and upon their arrival they looked at books together. Hermione asked if we knew of any good books and me and Mallory kind of looked at each other and chuckled. Mallory listed several good books she had read and Hermione started looking them over. When we passed a display that had the Harry Potter books on them Mallory couldn't resist the urge to make a comment. " These are those books I was mentioning...your actually a main character in them," she said as she picked one of them up and handed it to Hermione. "Being entirely muggle-born I'm surprised you haven't heard about them," Mallory added. "Actually I have heard of them, but Harry Potter is such a common name that how was I supposed to know it was referencing one of my best friends?" Hermione snipped almost offended. Ray sensed there could be a clash of egos and personalities in a second. "I guess," Mallory answered, she must have felt the tenseness in the air. Hermione turned the book over and skimmed the back quickly. "So does any of it sound familiar? Or is it total BS?" Ray asked out of genuine curiosity. "It does indeed sound somewhat familiar, but I'm sure some details have been exaggerated," Hermione responded. She seemed to take great interest in the book. After a few more minutes of shopping Hermione decided to get the first two books in the Potter series and made her way to the check out. After they went to Barnes and Nobles, Mallory asked Hermione if she wanted to hang out with them for the rest of the day, and she gladly accepted. They decided it would be best if they left the mall however, because Mallory and Ray were itching to ask Hermione some questions and she happily obliged. The threesome decided to hit a local park to take a walk through the trails, and do a bit of exploring. They spent the rest of the afternoon conversing and getting to know each other even better. " I thought it was against the law for underage wizards to use magic away from Hogwart's?" Ray asked, remembering the cheese incident. "Of course it's not, what would be the point in learning it if you never got to use it?" she responded. "Whatever gave you that idea?" she countered as they walked on. "It's all in the books, you'll see," Mallory replied, climbing over a log that lay fallen over their path. "So what brings you here all the way from Britain? You said something about classes at CC, but aren't you a little young for college?" Mallory asked. "Oh that," she responded wryly, "...what I said was CCC, you must have misheard me," Hermione said. "...And what exactly is that?" Mallory inquired. "Since you guys already know more than most about me, I guess it won't hurt to fill you in," Hermione stated. Then she added, "CCC is short for WCCC, the acronym for Wizarding Chess Convention Center, there are plenty of WCCC's around the world, they are primarily used for the World Wizarding Chess League," she stated, proud of her extensive knowledge. "And you can take classes at these...centers?" Ray interrupted. "Well, the summer is the offseason for Wizard Chess, and so in that time it serves as a sort of summer school for witches and wizards," she answered. "So what classes are you taking?" Mallory asked. "Well, even though I consider it a flawed field of magic at best, it'll look good if I at least get a few credits in Divination," Hermione responded. "Besides, I don't know that I necessarily hated Divination as much as I hated Trelawney," she added. "Understandable," Mallory thought aloud. "...She was always on with her this and that about what tragedy would strike next, or who's karma would be through the roof this week," Hermione continued ranting, not paying attention to the fact that Mallory agreed with her. Both Ray and Mallory looked eager to say something, but they just looked at Hermione apprehensively, wondering if she was done talking or not. " So...can anybody take these classes at the WCCC?" Ray asked gingerly as they carried on down the winding trails. As the sun was gradually setting Ray realized just how much it had cooled off from earlier that day. "Well, it's not the easiest thing to get enrolled in, it involves quite a bit of hardwork and commitment," She replied before adding, "that is, if you are even approved by the headmaster to enroll." "How does one get approved?" Ray persisted, it was clear where he was going with this. "You have to go through a private interview with the headmaster, and then he determines if your fit for the program or not," Hermione answered, and then added, "Why so curious, thinking of enrolling?" "Of course we are," Mallory stated as she made eye contact with Ray, making sure to get her name in on this opportunity as well. "Well...I could probably arrange interviews for the two of you," Hermione said as she took heed of the dark orange sun started setting in the sky. None of them had realized how late it was getting already. "Sounds great!" Ray exclaimed. "But how will we know if and when we have appointments?" he asked. "I'll send you an owl post, you should know when your appointments are relatively soon, by tomorrow night I'd guess," the younger girl answered. They had unconsciously walked all the way through the path and looped back to where they had parked the car hours earlier. All three of them sensed it was time to go home, and even though they had hung out all day, it seemed to have gone by too fast. "It's been fun," Mallory said before adding, " Hermione, do you need a ride back or anything?" "No, it's OK, I have my own ways of getting back," she replied. "Well I guess this is goodbye," Ray stated, somewhat skeptical that he would ever see or hear from Hermione again. "Good-bye, make sure you send a response back with the owl I'm sending tomorrow, OK?" Hermione relayed. "OK, see you later," Mallory said, as she turned to open her car door. "Bye," Hermione said, and by the time Ray and Mallory looked up she was already gone.  
  
~~~~~~ Please read and review. What do you think? 


	2. The Portkey

Part 2: The Portkey  
  
  
  
It was only a little past three in the afternoon, one day after their chance encounter with Hermione. Ray couldn't help but get his hopes up, even though he knew deep down in his heart that it was a longshot that they would ever hear from her again. The rest of the afternoon drawled on in an uneventful manner. After dinner he decided that he would call Mallory and see if she had heard anything from their new friend. "Hello Mal," he started in as soon as she picked up the phone. " Hi," she replied. Their conversation went on a few minutes longer although it was mostly small talk, and the like. Eventually Ray got around to stating the real reason for his call, and much to his dismay Mallory had heard nothing from Hermione. They talked for another hour when Ray heard a scraping noise at his window. He looked out to see a beautiful owl perched in the bush next to his window. It stood there peering in at him, and he noticed a small message tied to it's leg. "Hold on a sec," he told Mal as he set the phone down on a nearby ledge and went to open the window. Then he thought about how risky it was and decided to take a look around before letting in his mysterious visitor. Luckily for him his parents were still at church. He locked his door and went back to the window letting the bird in. The bird flapped it's large wings once and hovered into Ray's room, landing on the ledge near his desk. Ray picked the phone back up and explained to Mallory about his peculiar company. He reached up and petted the bird softly before moving on to the message. He unrolled the letter and read it's contents to Mallory over the phone.  
  
" Meet me at 12:30 tonight at the following address. There is a portkey here that will take us to the WCCC. Please don't forget to send a message back with this owl regardless of whether you will be able to make it or not. Also, if you could fill Mallory in I would most appreciate it as there was only one school owl available to run letters and I couldn't get one to her.  
  
Your Friend, Hermione"  
  
Then at the bottom of the page it listed the address they were to meet her at. Two thoughts instantly crept into Ray's mind. The first was that he was ecstatic to have gotten a response so soon. The second was the trickiness that would be involved with trying to attend the meeting later that night. He talked it over with Mallory and they decided that they would attempt to sneak out of their homes that night, but they needed to come up with a plan. They talked it out for about and hour while Ray quickly wrote a note back to Hermione. It wasn't real detailed response, just a quick "yes, we'll be there" sort of affair. He fidgeted for a minute trying to figure out how to tie the message onto the bird that sat perched in front of him. After a few more minutes he had it on there well enough that he wasn't worried about it coming off, and he sent the bird on it's way. They made plans for Mallory to sneak out of her house a little before midnight that night, and to pick Ray up. That was the most risky part. Then they would follow through and simply go to the address that was listed. It would take a little while to get there, and they had allotted more than enough time to compensate for any unseen problems that might arise. With that they said their good-byes over the phone and began their anxious wait until that night. Ray decided that the most effective way he could pass the remaining hours would be a quick nap. That way he would be well rested for that night's mischievous plan. It took him some time to finally fall asleep, but when he did the hours quietly slipped away into peaceful slumber. At about 10:30 he woke up and started getting ready. Meanwhile Mallory sat wondering exactly what the best way to slip past her parents would be. She knew that that would be the real trick, getting past her parents. Their senses were honed after years of catching her sister sneaking out. She decided after a half hour of fretting; that the best method would be to just flat out try to sneak her way out of the house. She knew that no matter how elaborate the scheme she created, it had about the same likelihood of working. She rested up and when the time came she masterfully opened her bedroom door as to avoid the loud creak it normally emits. She slipped on her shoes and quietly moved out of the hallway and peered around the corner. It looked like her parents might have already been asleep. She quietly crept up to the front door, her heart racing. She was rather nervous, but the whole experience was altogether exhilarating. This was a new kind of adventure for her she thought to herself as her mind snapped back to the task at hand. She moved to open the front door and heard a loud noise coming from back by her parents bedroom. Her heart skipped a beat. Had her parents heard her? She quickly ducked down behind the end of the couch and half waited, half anticipated the voice of her dad to call her name any minute. Instead she was met only with silence. After about 30 seconds her curiosity got the best of her and she decided to look and see if anybody was coming. She slowly looked around the corner to see that the noise had only been her cat Minnie jumping from the ledge to the floor. She sighed a breath of relief and silently opened the door. She tried her hardest to get out of the screen door without it making it's characteristic howling moan. It made a slight sound as she closed it, but not enough to stir anybody inside the house. At least she hoped not. She looked down at her watch to catch the time, it was only 11:52, not bad at all she thought to herself. Now the true test, she had to try and take the car without her parents hearing it start up and take off. She made her way to her car, thankful that she had parked it by the side of the street earlier that day, instead of in the driveway. She opened the door and hastily got in. She looked in her rearview mirror and saw another car slowly coming down the road. When it passed she quickly started her engine and she was off. She took the most direct route to Ray's house, and when she pulled into the driveway it was only a few brief seconds before he crawled out his window and made his way to the car. Once again she accelerated off into the night, her newfound sense of adventure running rampant. Mallory took a look at a piece of paper that Ray handed her. It was a map that he had printed up off the Internet, it gave the quickest directions on how to get from his house, to the address that Hermione had given them. It was a good thing that they were making good time, because their destination was a little farther away than they both had expected. Seconds ticked off into minutes as they continued on their journey. It was about 12:22 when they finally pulled into the remains of the driveway. Before them stood what had to be one of the most dilapidated and rickety old houses still in existence. What was left of it's exterior was in shambles, it's wood rotting, covered in mold, and reeking of mildew. The lawn looked like it hadn't been attended in almost 15 years, weeds and trees had overtaken it many many moons ago. The windows were at one time boarded up, but even those boards were in advanced stages of decay, and were starting to fall to the ground below. Mallory wondered if it was even the right address, but upon closer examination she found that the street address was still on the building in rusted metal numbers. It was definitely the right place. For a little past midnight the air was still heavy with heat and humidity, or maybe it was heavy with nervousness and anxiety. Ray took the lead as they headed up to the front door of the estate. He stepped up on the first step and it made an obnoxious creaking sound. He looked back to make sure Mallory was still with him before continuing up the porch steps. Each made their own distinctive cry as he walked up them. When he got to the top of the stairs he waited for Mallory to join him. "Ladies first," he said as he looked at her with that devilishly sly grin and held the door open. "Now way!" she exclaimed back. "Fine, I'll go first," Ray decided as he turned to enter the building. His body tensed up as he took his first step into the dark main room of the house. He paused for a minute in the doorway, allowing his eyes to adjust. The moon was almost nonexistent that night, and with half the windows boarded up the room was eerily dark. "Ray?" Mallory called softly from outside the door before saying it again, only this time a bit louder. "Yeah, I'm still here," he answered back as he turned around looking for her. "Give me your hand," he said, extending his hand towards hers and leading her into the darkened house. "In that owl post, did Hermione say exactly where in here we are supposed to meet her?" Mallory asked out of genuine curiosity. "Nope," he responded, starting to wonder about that himself. "She just said to be at this address at 12:30," he added. They stumbled around in the darkness for a few moments, not quite sure what to do. Then they heard a high pitched sound and both of their hearts skipped a few beats. Mallory clutched Ray's hand harder, and he threw his other hand up instinctively as the sound swooped closer. "Was that a bat?" Mallory asked. "Your guess is as good as mine, but I think so, yeah," Ray quickly said. It was at that time that they heard a loud noise above them. Mallory could barely make out a staircase in front of them in the dim light. She pointed it out to Ray and he nodded as he led the way towards it. They creaked their way up the stairs at a steady pace. Ray knew that if he stopped he might not be able to work up the courage to keep going. At the top of the stairs the room was even darker. Ray couldn't make out anything at all, and he knew there was someone or something in the upstairs with them. His heart raced on and all of his muscles were tense. He felt the intensity of the situation rise up in his chest with every breath he drew in. They continued on into what must have been the middle of the room when they heard the footsteps again. They were drawing nearer and nearer. "Hermione?" Ray called out frantically, the nervous edge evident in his voice. There was no response as the footsteps drew closer. "Hermione, Hermione is that you?" Mallory tried, obviously the situation had gotten to her as well. Ray felt something brush past his left leg, and he froze for a split second. Then in an instant the entire room lit up, and the creature they had heard stood before them. Both Ray and Mallory stood there staring in speechless wonderment. They weren't sure what they were looking at, it was a humanoid figure, a goblin or an elf of some sort. It wasn't very tall, and it was wearing mismatched socks... "Dobby?!?" Mallory asked, wondering if it could possibly be him. "Yes ma'am, that would be me," he responded, looking up at them. "What are you doing here?" Ray asked. "Hermione asked me to come, said to tell you something came up and she couldn't make it," Dobby answered grinning. He was holding some kind of strange torch in his hand that illuminated the whole room. "So exactly what is it that we are supposed to do?" Mallory asked him, starting to get over the fact that they were in the same room as Dobby the house elf. " Simple enough, we're going to take the portkey back to the WCCC, speaking of which, we better access it before it activates at 12:30," he said looking at the clock that hung from the chain on his neck. It was just then Ray noticed Dobby's attire. Other than his mismatched socks, he wore an interesting flannel shirt with a neon green tie. He had some strange hat on his head, the likes of which Ray had never seen, and of course, the aforementioned clock on a necklace. He was quite a sight to behold, just as Rowling had made him out to be. Dobby was busy searching under the floorboards in one corner of the room, and after a few moments he emerged with a rather odd looking smooth rock in his hand. His face was illuminated in a strange way from the mysterious light source that now rested on the floor. He walked into the center of the room and held up the rock. "This rock is the portkey," he said holding it up. "OK," Ray said as he walked over to Dobby and put his hand on the rock. Mallory did the same, and they stood there for a minute. "It should take effect any minute now," Dobby said as he stood there with one hand on the rock, and the other holding the clock dangling from his neck. Then, just like that the wind picked up and they felt themselves being jerked forward in a flash of brilliant color and light. 


End file.
